(Courtesy of WOI) - IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Law Enforcement Academy hired an instructor last year even though he’d been demoted from his previous job for harassing a female cadet.

The Ankeny Police Department downgraded Curtis Pote from sergeant to officer in 2011, after a 26-year-old applicant reported that he texted her a picture of himself shirtless and repeatedly requested a similar photograph of her.

ILEA Director Arlen Ciechanowski tells The Associated Press he was aware of Pote’s demotion when he hired him over 55 other candidates to teach about several subjects, including domestic violence. But he says he was satisfied the text messages were “an isolated incident” and that Pote was the best candidate.

Pote says he made an error in judgment but has moved on. He says he was a highly qualified candidate.